Spring is a time of celebration. The long, cold Winter is over. Flowers are blooming. Birds are chirping. The snow and ice is melting. In Colorado, Spring is also a time for high winds, rain, lightning, hail, and wet and heavy snow. These elements can cause a lot of damage to your roof. Strong winds have been known to relocate patio umbrellas onto roofs. High winds can also tear roofing shingles and metal panels off your roof. Rain has a way of finding weak spots in your roof. Heavy snow accumulation on tree branches can cause them to break and land on your roof resulting in costly repairs. That’s why it’s important to take care of our roof and make sure it’s in tip-top shape.
Is your roof ready for Spring? Look for the below signs that it isn’t. If you spot any, get it fixed right away before it develops into a bigger, most costly problem.
Quick Answer: To make sure your roof is ready for Spring in Colorado; make sure there’s no loose or missing roof material, such as shingles, there’s no tree branches rubbing on your roof or gutters, your gutters are clean, and there’s no debris on your roof, such as tree branches.
Loose Roof Material
One sign you can look for to make sure your roof is ready for Spring, is to look for any loose roofing materials that might have loosened over the previous fall or winter. High winds or ice dams may have loosened shingles or tiles. If you have loose roofing material, you’ll want to secure them again before high winds in the Spring do more damage to your roof.
Missing Roof Material
Your roof is the front line of defense against rain, hail, snow, and airborne embers. Without this defense, your house is vulnerable. Therefore, you’ll want to replace any missing roofing materials right away. Missing roofing materials leads to leaks. Roof leaks can lead to a rotting roof deck and other, more costly problems. Also, once one piece of roofing material is missing, additional pieces are sure to follow in high winds. Prevent the problem from getting worse by replacing those missing materials right away.
Tree Branches
A very important tip to make sure your roof is ready for Spring, is to make sure dead tree branches above your home are trimmed off. In fact, cut back any tree branches over your roof. In the Spring, here in Colorado, we often get heavy, wet snow. And sometimes a lot of it. It’s not uncommon to get several inches, or feet, of snow in the Spring. Actually, in March of 2021, 2 feet of snow fell in Fort Collins. Fallen branches littered every street in town. This heavy snow accumulation causes branches to break and fall. You don’t want that heavy tree branch to fall onto your home, or car, or a loved one. The result could be costly, or worse yet, deadly.
Gutter Cleaning
If you didn’t clean-out your gutters last fall, do it now before large amounts of wet and heavy snow collect in them and tear them away from your home. A few minutes of gutter cleaning could save you hundreds of dollars in potential gutter repair later. Don’t want to clean your gutters yourself? We don’t blame you. It’s messy and not exactly a fun time. Just search online for ‘gutter cleaning services’ in your area to find someone that will clean your gutters for you.
Roof Damage
If you have any roof damage at all, such as missing granules on asphalt shingles, curled or missing shingles, missing metal panels or tiles, get it fixed right away. Even minor roof damage can lead to more extensive damages, later. The sooner your roof is repaired, the less it will cost you. Keep in mind, not all roof damage is obvious from the ground. If you are uncertain about getting onto your roof, don’t worry. With our free roof inspections, you have nothing to lose.
Wild Fire
As wild fires become more common, it’s a good idea to replace that susceptible wood shake roof, if you have one, with a more fire-resistant roofing option. Hot embers can travel a good distance, sparking a new fire miles away from where it started. You don’t want that new fire to be your roof. If you have
a wood shake roof, make sure it’s recently treated for fire. Better yet, replace it with something more fire-resistant, like stone-coated metal shingles. If you have exposed asphalt on your asphalt shingle roof, make sure it’s replaced with fresh new shingles, as asphalt is not fire-resistant.
Bottom Line
As homeowners, we don’t like to waste our time or money. It’s also not really fun to inspect our roofs to make sure they’re ready for Spring. We know that. However, if you just take a few minutes and have a quick look at your roof, maybe while you’re cleaning out your gutters, to look for any of the above signs of roof damage, you can save yourself a lot of time and money later by fixing any problems you see. If you do spot a problem, and don’t or can’t fix it yourself, contact us. Our roof inspections are free. We’ll let you know what we find, if anything, and provide a free, no-obligation estimate to fix your roof damage.